Without a doubt, Dale Earnhardt Jr. really has an eye for talent and knows how to pick them. While he never quite reached the level of his father, when he was a racer, Earnhardt Jr. found a different calling. He has built up a hugely successful business as a team owner of JR Motorsports. The organization boasts four Xfinity Series titles and has been a bit of a hotbed of NASCAR talent, from the likes of Shane van Gisbergen to Kyle Larson.

In 2025, the latest driver to come through the ranks is Carson Kvapil. The 22-year-old is one of two rookies in the JRM squad, with the other one being the teenage sensation Connor Zilisch. JRM also balances its youth with experienced drivers like Justin Allgaier and Sammy Smith.

2025 marks Kvapil’s maiden full-time campaign in the Xfinity Series. Before that, he enjoyed nine races with JR Motorsports during the 2024 season, scoring a best finish of P2. But the journey behind this early success wasn’t a short one. Kvapil, while enjoying his full-time campaign today, recently recalled how it all began for him and his stock racing career.

The Dale Earnhardt Jr protégé opened up about his road to NASCAR

In conversation with NASCAR Live, Carson Kvapil documented his journey to NASCAR. The 22-year-old is the oldest of the three siblings, and his father Travis Kvapil was an ex-NASCAR driver himself. In a sport where legacies are important, his father’s connection would have been incredibly invaluable to Carson Kvapil. Naturally, he and his younger brother Caden would have grown up watching their father race on TV.

Speaking about how the NASCAR journey began for him, he told NASCAR Live, “As far as most of you guys know, my dad Travis ran Trucks, Cup, and some Xfinity cars for a while. Just growing up around racing was kind of just normal life for me. Going to the race tracks, watch racing every weekend, that was just normal for us. For me, growing up racing was everything.”

In short, we see how his father, Travis Kvapil, was the major instrumental figure in developing his interest in the racing world. Being a part of that universe makes a big difference as compared to starting from scratch, having no one to guide you in the direction you want to go. However, despite this advantage, Kvapil did not enter the industry very early, according to him:

“It honestly took me a while to get my first start in racing. I was probably 10 years old when I got my first start in the Bandoleros, then from there I went to Legend cars, Outlaw cars. Ran those for a few years and then went Late Model racing, probably 2017, 2018, was probably the first year I ran Late Model. Ran some Super Late Model, Late Model Stock.”

His good performances in his early phases definitely helped in his gradual trajectory rise as he describes it. And it is that very form that caught the eye of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports, who decided to recruit him in their Late Model Stock programme at the end of 2021. “The last few years prior to this year have been running Late Model full-time. Had some really strong runs in the Late Model division and ran good and won some championships. Got the opportunity to move up part-time last year in the Xfinity car, and that eventually moved into full-time this year.”

Now, with his full-time Xfinity schedule, he has shown some promising performances this season. He’s had eight top-10 finishes, including a close runner-up finish at EchoPark Speedway. With six more races left before the playoffs, Kvapil would certainly be aiming for his maiden win in the series.

Is a maiden win on the horizon for Carson Kvapil?

As far as rookie seasons go, he has been in incredible form as the second-best rookie after JR Motorsports teammate Connor Zilisch. The 18-year-old prodigy already has four wins under his belt and sits second in the standings after the Dover race. Carson Kvapil finished 15th in the same race and has moved one position down to 7th in the table.

When he spoke about his rookie season, he said, “The biggest change for me is not working on the race car. These Xfinity cars are similar to the late model stuff but have different components. Short tracks are Saturday night fun racing; this NASCAR stuff is awesome, but I treat it more like a job.”

One thing’s for sure, things look great for Dale Earnhardt Jr. as all four of his drivers are in contention for the championship. Defending champion Justin Allgaier is leading the championship. Meanwhile, Zilisch and Sammy Smith have won their way into the playoffs. Nonetheless, Kvapil waits for his first win, something he was very close to in Atlanta, after which he had said, “I’m gonna run it through my head about 20 to 100 times.” And if not a win, he will have to continue scoring high in his races to qualify based on points.